NCTE 2023// Food: The Universal Language that Connects Us All panel

Thank you to my husband for taping our NCTE panel: Food: The Universal Language that Connects Us All panel

What’s a more universal experience than sharing a meal? Food brings people together, connects communities, and unites generations through tradition. In this moderated panel, four authors will discuss how food is a multidimensional cross-curricular topic that encompasses nonfiction, historical, and cultural texts, offers research opportunities, and engenders a love of reading.

What’s a more universal experience than sharing a meal? Many cultures have built entire holidays centered around eating specific dishes. Food brings people together, connects communities, unites generations through tradition, and entertains the masses.

So how can we use food in English classes? In this moderated panel, four authors of food-centric picture books will discuss how literature featuring food can build a greater understanding of the human experience and make connections with new people and communities.

Through historical, cultural, and holiday texts, students can learn about a plethora of dishes – and the communities from which they come. They can explore traditions that offer perspectives that contrast with their own experiences. Even within cultures, religions, or geographical regions, different dishes offer a different ‘slice of life’ (pun intended) that allows students to appreciate more about their fellow learners and gain empathy through new perspectives, all through the lens of food. This connection addresses NCTE Standard #2 which states, “Students who read literature learn that literary texts are often relevant to their own lives. Their exploration of literary worlds also offers perspectives which may contrast and conflict with their own experiences and invite them to reflect critically on alternative ways of knowing and being.”

NCTE Standard #7 begins, “Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems.” Through nonfiction texts, students can learn where their food comes from. Not only parts of the world but the entire process of how it goes from a farm to their table. How did that banana go from a tree to their lunchbox? How much energy did it take to make that happen? How does what you eat affect the global industrial food complex? And on less serious topics, they can research the truth about certain familiar dishes. Are French fries really from France? Who invented nachos?

In addition to the many information-rich picture books featuring and including food, there are many entertaining and fun books full of fruitful language, delicious rhymes, and more that will leave students yearning for another bite … er, book. Food is a common language among all humans. It can entertain. It can teach us facts. It can be a source of curiosity. It can bring people from all walks of life together. Food connects us all.

Josh Funk is a software engineer and the author of books like the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series, the It’s Not a Fairy Tale series, the How to Code with Pearl and Pascal series, Dear Dragon, Dear Unicorn, and more. Since the fall of 2015, he has visited (or virtually visited) over 700 schools and libraries around the world.

Jenny Seiler is an educator, secondary ELA content coordinator, and library coordinator in Colorado. She has participated in children’s literature committees and has presented at local, state, and national conferences.

Mia Wenjen is the author of Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World, Sumo Joe, and more. She blogs on parenting, children’s books, and education at PragmaticMom.com and is the co-creator of Read Your World Celebrates Multicultural Children’s Book Day.

Lisa Wyzlic is the debut picture book author of Harold the Iceberg Melts Down about the importance of friendship and self-care, perfect for any young reader worried about their planet’s future.

M.O. Yuksel is the award-winning author of picture books In My Mosque (ALA Notable Book), and One Wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University (NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended 2022). Her forthcoming books include Ramadan Kareem, and Sami’s Special Gift: An Eid Al-Adha Story.

p.s. Related posts:

7 Food-Themed Picture Books That Offer Cultural Windows

6 Diverse Foodie Picture Books from 2022

Top 8 Picture Books Featuring Anthropomorphic Foods

8 Fabulous Food Truck Children’s Books

17+ Wonderful Multicultural Picture Books About Food

14 Asian American Picture Books About Food

Food for the Future: Sustainable Values in Children’s Books at ALAAC23

FOOD FOR THE FUTURE Book Launch with Josh Funk at Hummingbird Books

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